Nigeria: IMF Advocates Cash Transfers to Cushion Hardship in Nigeria

What the report says

The International Monetary Fund is calling for targeted cash transfers and temporary income support for vulnerable households in Nigeria as a way to ease the burden of high living costs, curb poverty and improve food security. The recommendation was presented by Deniz Igan, chief of the IMF Research Department’s World Economic Studies Division, during a briefing on the Fund’s World Economic Outlook at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Thailand.

According to the report carried by Vanguard and distributed by AllAfrica, the IMF said Nigeria’s economy has continued to grow, but many households are still under pressure from expensive food and energy. The Fund argued that any social support should be aimed at the most vulnerable and should be temporary, rather than broad-based, to help households cope with current hardship.

The IMF also linked the advice to wider fiscal reforms. It said support for poor households should be paired with better public spending, stronger revenue collection and a credible medium-term fiscal framework so the government can improve fiscal sustainability and reduce debt without deepening social pain. In addition, Igan said central banks need to keep price stability in view while balancing the effects of inflation-control measures on economic activity.

More broadly, the report highlights a familiar policy challenge in Nigeria: how to protect low-income households while restoring fiscal balance and bringing inflation under control. The article presents the IMF’s view as part of its broader guidance on managing cost-of-living pressures in economies facing supply-side shocks.